[Scar/Dream] Heart Thief

38. Feeling Better

So, today Scar learned that high fevers could lead to delirium.

Scar had gotten all of Dream's bedcovers washed and dried, along with his pajamas, and had made the bed for him. Then he kept sitting with him downstairs, only for Dream to end up drifting off to sleep leaning against him, and now Scar was holding him while texting his friend group chat. He told them about Dream's weird, surprisingly forward behavior and they had found some of it sweet, though were also worried because of how unusual it was for Dream. And then Stress had jumped in to confirm that fevers could cause people to behave differently. She saw it all the time. It altered personality and behaviors. It caused people to speak without thinking. It could cause hallucinations.

Scar knew that had to be it. Dream has never acted like this with him. He didn't think the behavior was false, really. But Dream was so sick he just didn't have the energy to overthink things, he didn't have his usual inhibitions, he just said or did whatever came to mind. Scar was sure he would be embarrassed once he was lucid again, but Scar hoped he didn't beat himself up too much about it. Scar was flattered by his much more blatant interest in him. If Dream brought it up later, Scar was going to be very kind about it. He didn't want Dream to feel ashamed of being bold.

Ren: So are you gonna get that sexy nurse outfit? I think he deserves something special after being so sick.

Scar snorted and typed a response.

Scar: not now, but I do wanna surprise him with it one day

Grian: If you do get one make sure you send us lots of pictures.

Scar sent a thumbs up. Then he put the phone aside and gathered Dream up into his arms, picking him up to carry him upstairs. Dream stayed asleep, even when Scar laid him down and got him tucked in. Scar watched for a few moments to see if he stirred awake, but when he didn't, he left the room. It was early in the afternoon but Scar was still tired after running up and down the stairs doing the laundry. He took his mask off and returned to the living room, scooping his phone back up and laying back on the couch. He texted Cub for a bit, making sure things were going okay, then looked back at the group chat. It wasn't that busy, since it was a work day and most of his friends had things to do. He went to the Internet instead, doing a little more reading about helping manage flu symptoms, before eventually getting bored and closing out of it.

He spaced out as he looked at the TV, not that interested in the show, but just wanting something to distract him. He was worried about Dream, but he believed Stress's reassurances that he would get through this. She had told him which symptoms to watch out for, but Dream hasn't shown any of those, and it's already been two days since the flu really kicked in. Scar was expecting it to last for maybe a couple more days at the most, especially since Dream had said today that he was feeling better. But then, maybe Dream wasn't exactly in the right headspace to be able to say whether he was actually feeling better. But at least he was eating well, and had gotten out of bed to go shower without any problems.

With Dream asleep, Scar let himself also doze off for a while on the couch. His sleeping schedule was completely wrecked, but it was fine. He would get it back on track eventually.

The next day, Scar was relieved to find that Dream's fever had subsided at some point during the night. He checked his temperature to find that it had dropped back below 100, and Dream said he was feeling a lot better, though his voice hadn't recovered yet. Still, he easily got out of bed when Scar suggested breakfast, and he ate far more than he had over the past few days.

When Dream was done, he smiled at Scar, then got out the notebook he had started using to write him messages instead of talking.

He wrote something, then passed it over for Scar to read.